Same-store-sales figures for May in focus; J.P. Morgan Chase hit with U.K. fine

SimonKennedy

KateGibson

Largely in line with expectations, the market offered little reaction to data showing jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 453,000 last week. The government claims data followed the ADP survey that found the private sector added 55,000 jobs in May.

"The dip in jobless claims, which along with the firmer ADP report added to the growing body of evidence that Friday's census-fueled payrolls report will be a healthy one," said analysts at Action Economics.

Another government report had U.S. first-quarter productivity revised down to a 2.8% growth rate from the initial estimate of 3.6%.

U.S. stocks rose broadly Wednesday, led by the energy sector, with a better-than-expected report on pending-home sales also contributing to the third best day of the year so far for the Dow industrials, which closed up over 225 points.

Data on factory orders for April and the Institute for Supply Management's services index for May will come out after the opening bell.

"The recovery is looking increasingly robust as the labor market is turning and underlying domestic demand has improved faster than expected. Downside risks from a jobless recovery are now limited," said analysts at Danske Bank.

"The debt crisis in Europe is the main risk. It is already taking a toll on growth via deteriorating financial conditions. If market conditions do not improve a more pronounced slowdown is in the offing for the second half," they added.

In currencies, the dollar gained against Japan's yen and was also up slightly against the euro ahead of Thursday's data. The euro fell 0.1% to $1.2239, while the dollar rose 0.6% to 92.67 yen.

In energy, crude-oil prices strengthened, with the July light crude contract gaining 45 cents to stand at $73.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

BP (BP)
BP, -0.55%
remained in the spotlight as the oil giant managed to dislodge a stuck saw blade and continue its latest attempt to stop the six-week oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company said Thursday that it will fund the building of six sand barriers off the coast of Louisiana, adding another $360 million to the ballooning costs of containing the spill.

Retailers will be in focus as they reveal same-store-sales figures for May.

J.P. Morgan Chase
JPM, -0.72%
was also in the news after the U.K.'s Financial Services Authority fined the blue-chip banking giant a record 33.3 million pounds ($49 million) for failing to properly segregate as much as $23 billion of client funds.

The money could have been at risk if the firm had become insolvent, the regulator said. See full story.

Also of note, Ford Motor Co.
F, -1.39%
said late Wednesday it would kill off its Mercury brand by the end of the year to focus on its core products.

European markets posted strong gains Thursday, with the French CAC 40 index rising 2.2%, while in Asia Japan's Nikkei 225 Average closed up 3.2% on the session.

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